When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers conducted an analysis of the Clean Water Rule in 2015, they found the rule’s benefits to the public outweighed the costs of implementing the water protections. But now the agencies under President Trump, who wants to repeal the rule, have reversed their previous findings, saying the rule’s quantified benefits are 85 percent to 90 percent lower than they were two years ago. The discrepancy? The recent analysis fails to quantify the value of wetlands, which the previous assessment put between $306 million and $501 million annually. While the Trump document acknowledges that wetlands provide important functions (flood control and filtering pollution among them), by not giving those services a monetary value, it greatly—and conveniently for Trump and his friends in polluting industries—undercuts the Clean Water Rule’s economic advantages.
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Expert BlogJon Devine
Today, the Trump administration announced a proposed rulemaking action. If this is finalized, it will throw away the Clean Water Rule, a signature achievement by the prior administration that helps protect water bodies around the country.
Expert BlogNRDC
The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers have proposed to repeal the Clean Water Rule, which protects the water supply for 117 million Americans.
Press Release
WASHINGTON – At a hearing today, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt indicated that the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will send to the Federal Register today a proposal to repeal the Clean Water Rule.
DispatchSouth Carolina, GeorgiaRobynne Boyd
For drinking water, flood control, climate defense, habitat protection, fishing, swimming, and, of course, craft beer.
Expert BlogJon Devine